Gary Oldman entertains new neighbors in old Palm Springs tradition

KMIR film critic Manny the Movie Guy (right) moderates a Q&A with new Palm Springs resident Gary Oldman last month after a screening of “Darkest Hour” at the Mary Pickford 14/ D’Place Entertainment.

Samuel Estrada Jr. from Cathedral City stood out in the line waiting to meet Oscar-nominated actor Gary Oldman Sunday at Mary Pickford Theatre is D'Place. The 19-year-old aspiring actor not only looked like James Franco, with a tuft of blond hair distinguishing him from his early portrayal of James Dean, he exuded a certain kind of cool.

But, when Estrada came face-to-face with Oldman, wearing glasses and a round fedora that distinguished him from any of his myriad screen personas, the cool dissipated and emotions overcame him. Oldman gave him a hug, talked to him about his acting aspirations and treated him like a neighbor, because that’s what he is.

Oldman recently purchased a home in Palm Springs and he made a near surprise visit to the Cathedral City cineplex to talk to the locals after a screening of ‘Darkest Hour,” in which he stars as Great Britain’s World War II Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. His Q&A, announced Saturday with KMIR-TV film critic Manny the Movie Guy, continued a long Hollywood tradition of local stars appearing before desert audiences going back to the days of Lionel Barrymore at the 1936 Plaza Theatre premiere of "Camille" and Bryan Cranston supporting the old Palme D'Or in Palm Desert.

For Estrada, it was a thrill of a lifetime. Oldman is considered the front-runner for the Best Actor Academy Award, and Estrada says he’s at “the pinnacle” of his craft.

“It still feels like a dream,” he said, as other fans circled Oldman for autographs. “I’ve actually been trying to shut my eyes to see if it was a dream, but it wasn’t. It’s so surreal right now, I can’t really describe it.”

Filmgoer Samuel Estrada Jr. prepares to a question of actor Gary Oldman at a Q&A after a screening ...more

Filmgoer Samuel Estrada Jr. prepares to a question of actor Gary Oldman at a Q&A after a screening of "Darkest Hour" at the Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City.

Taya Gray/Special to The Desert Sun

Oldman made several references to himself as “a local,” and talked about when he realized he wanted to be an actor. He said it was after seeing British actor Malcolm McDowell in the 1971 Brian Forbes film, “The Raging Moon.”

“Alcoholics call it a moment of clarity,” he said. “It was like a lightning bolt. It was like the lights in the room got brighter and I went, ‘I want to do that. That’s what I want to do.’ You know that lopsided grin McDowell has? I used to sort of practice the grin when I was 14.”

He even had advice that Estrada, who said he spent a year studying acting at the University of California, Santa Cruz, could possibly use.

“Young people nowadays think they can get it in five minutes,” he said. “When I arrived in the UK for ‘Darkest Hour’ to start rehearsal, which is very rare in movie-making, I was off the book. I was word perfect. So, I knew the film like a play. You’re playing this character with this energy and this mind that is working a thousand miles an hour, and you can’t be searching for that dialogue. You’ve got to know it. I’m a big believer that it’s how long you know something, not how well you know something. The longer you’re with it, it’s in your bloodstream.

“Me being off the book is not extraordinary ability. It’s not super talent. It’s actually hard work. It’s me sitting down in my kitchen banging lines in my head, going over and over and over them. And what I would say to, certainly the young people who want to get into acting, first of all, you’ve got to want it with your life. It’s going to be like the most important thing and you’ve got to live it, want it, breathe it, eat it. Then it’s really about doing the work.”

Actor Gary Oldman participates in a Q&A with Manny the Movie Guy of KMIR after a screening of ...more

Actor Gary Oldman participates in a Q&A with Manny the Movie Guy of KMIR after a screening of "Darkest Hour" at the Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City on Sunday, February 11, 2018.

The British are known for their classical technique developed for the stage, while American actors are known for practicing the sense-memory “method” developed at New York’s Actor’s Studio. Oldman said he doesn't "inhabit" a character; he practices an art form. But his wife, Gisele, who was in the audience, said he does disappear into a character.

“You can’t ‘become’ a character because you would be hospitalized,” he said. “That’s schizophrenia. There may be some that will tell you that, but we all find ways of working and how we find a character, that’s the art — giving the illusion that we are these people.

“But, I’m thinking about it a lot. My wife would say to me (at) home, ‘You’re not here.’ I’d say, ‘I’m around,’ but she’d say, ‘No you’re not.’ So, I’ve never really followed one theory or idea, but there have been occasions in movies where I’ve had to emote, to weep — not just cry, but to weep — and you have to connect to things in your life to be able to produce that.”

In ‘Darkest Hour,’ Oldman said he and director Joe Wright wanted to show Churchill as the heroic character he was, but, “He was a man. He was still a man.”

Final voting for the Academy Awards closes on Monday. The 89th Academy Awards ceremony is Feb. 26 in Hollywood.